7000 INTRODUCTION



7000 INTRODUCTION

7100 RESPONSIBILITY

7101 Budgets and Contracts

7102 Contract Officer

7103 Contract Administrator

7104 Administrative Contracts

7105 Administrative Equipment Rental

7106 Service Orders

7107 Client Services

7108 Contract Amendments

7200 CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS (GENERAL)

7201 To Request a Contract

7202 Bids and Proposals

7203 Authorized Signatures

7204 Payment Provisions

7300 CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS (CONSULTANTS & SERVICES)

7301 Civil Service Consideration

7302 Advance Payments

7303 Multiple Year Contracts

7204 Minority Women and Disabled Veterans

7305 Drug-Free Workplace

7308 Medical Consultants

7309 Monitoring Contractor's Progress

7310 Contractor's Final Report, Implementation and Evaluation

7311 Contracts Register

7400 FACILITIES DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

7500 COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS

7600 CASE SERVICE CONTRACTS

7604 Community Resources Development Section

7605 Duties of the Case Service Contract Administrator

7606 Contract Officer

7607 Evaluation of Contracts

Exhibit A-1 Contract Request (DR15)

Exhibit A-5 Recruitment Instructions - Medical Consultant

7000 INTRODUCTION (01/92)

This chapter is intended for use by all Departmental staff involved in the development and processing of departmental contracts, interagency agreements, grants, cooperative agreements, Invitations for Bids and Requests for Proposals.

For the purposes of this chapter, a contract is a binding financial agreement between the Department of Rehabilitation and a second party or person. It is State policy that all binding financial agreements be made in writing and signed by each party to evidence the terms and conditions.

7100 RESPONSIBILITY (01/92)

7101 Budgets and Contracts (01/92)

The Chief of the Budgets and Contracts Section of the Department of Rehabilitation has the overall responsibility for the administration of the contracting process.

7102 Contract Officer (01/92)

The Contract Officer is the individual in the Budgets and Contracts Section responsible for the determination of contractual requirements, submittal of Invitations for Bids and Requests for Proposals, contract terms and conditions, obtaining appropriate reviews and approvals and awarding of contracts. The Contract Officer is liaison to other agencies responsible for the review and/or approval of contracts.

7103 Contract Administrator (01/92)

The Contract Administrator is the individual requesting the contract and has the responsibility to:

1. Determine the need for a contract;

2. Determine that services to be provided in the consultant contract or case services contract are not those provided by civil service employees (Request assistance from the Personnel Section --i.e., see RAM 7301);

3. Determine availability of funds (with assistance from the Budget and Contract Section);

4. Develop the program specifications for the RFP/IFB;

5. Obtain appropriate Deputy Director approval;

6. Request the contract from the Contract Officer;

7. Monitor the contract;

8. Approve payment, (see RAM 7204);

9. Provide the Contract Officer with copies of all required progress reports and final written report from the contractor;

10. Complete the Contract/Contractor Evaluation Report (STD4).

The Contract Administrator shall provide all information required by the Contract Officer at lease ninety (90) working days prior to the effective date of the contract, except for consultant contracts under $1,000.00 which require thirty (30) working days.

The Contract Administrator shall inform the contractor that performance shall not commence until the contract has been finally approved by all appropriate State agencies.

The Contract Administrator shall coordinate all contract activities with the Contract Officer. The Contract Administrator shall notify the Contract Officer in writing when a contract is terminated so that funds can be disencumbered.

7104 Administrative Contracts (01/92)

The Business Services Section shall prepare specification, solicit bids, negotiate contractual terms, and transmit all required information to the Contract Officer for final processing on all administrative contracts pertaining to janitorial services, equipment maintenance, rental of standard office equipment, repairs, alterations, office moves, etc.

7105 Administrative Equipment Rental (01/92)

Prior to preparation of contracts for the rental of equipment, other than standard office equipment, for administrative purposes, the Business Services Section shall be contacted to determine availability of excess items. If no surplus items are available, a Contract Request (Figure A-1) shall be prepared by the requesting office and sent to the Contract Officer for approval and processing.

The Contract Administrator shall prepare a lease/purchase analysis prior to award of certain contracts for rental of equipment. Contact the Budgets and Contracts Section for lease/purchase analysis procedures.

A lease/purchase analysis is required prior to entering into a contract with a vendor when either:

1. The rental period will exceed three months, or

2. The total rent will exceed $1,000.

In general, a lease/purchase analysis consists of comparing the purchase price of the item with the cost of leasing for the entire period of the lease. If the more expensive method is chosen, a justification must be provided. If Department of General Services, Office of Procurement's review of the analysis indicates purchasing the item, the purchasing procedures in RAM Chapter 9 shall be followed. If their analysis confirms rental of the item, the procedure for rentals within the 3 month/$1,000 limitation shall be followed. If a lease/purchase contract is indicated, contact the Budgets and Contracts Section for assistance in preparing the contract.

7106 Service Orders (01/92)

Service orders are issued for Administrative Services with a cost of less than $1,000. All service orders must have three (3) competitive bids. If three bids cannot be obtained, an explanation must be provided.

All requests for service orders for Central Office Units housed in the headquarters offices must be submitted on a Form 5 to the Business Services Section. At least 10 working days should be allowed for non-emergency services.

Districts and outstationed Central Office units may issue a service order directly for a cost of less than $300. The three bid rule applies and documentation of the bids must be maintained on file for audit purposes along with a log on service orders issued. The DR Form 28 used for service orders may be obtained from the Business Services Section. One copy of each service order issued under $300 is to be submitted to the Business Services Section at the time it is issued.

All requests for service orders of $300.00 to $999.99 must be submitted on a Form 5 to the Business Services Section. Any service involving building modifications must be requested in writing to the Business Services Section regardless of cost. Business Services will review requests and obtain necessary approvals.

Every reasonable effort is to be made to locate vendors of service who meet Small, Minority Owned, Woman Owned and/or Disabled Veteran Owned criteria.

The State Administrative Manual limits the use of a single vendor to a total of $1,000 for each fiscal year. Business Services must be contacted prior to exceeding this amount regardless of the dollar level of the service order which exceeds the annual limit.

Upon satisfactory completion of the service, District Administrator, Section Chief, or Designee approves the vendor invoice for payment and forwards the invoice to the Accounting Section for scheduling of payment.

No verbal or confirming service orders are to be issued nor are service orders to be issued for services already performed.

7107 Client Services (01/92)

Purchases of specially manufactured client service items such as portable ramps, work benches, door enlargements, and other minor modifications involving labor and materials under $1,000 shall be executed on a DR297B. The purchase of client services in excess of $1,000 shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Monetary contract limitations have been placed on home modifications by Regulations. (See Regulations Section 7174.)

7108 Contract Amendments (01/92)

Amendments may be issued to modify the termination date, increase funds, add services, etc. These amendments must be coordinated with the Contract Officer and may require control agencies review and approval.

7200 CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS (GENERAL) (01/92)

7201 To Request a Contract (01/92)

These procedures do not apply to consultant contracts of less than $1,000; construction contracts; Medical Consultant contracts; grants; cooperative agreements; administrative contracts, as defined in Section 7104; and case service contracts (See RAM 7600).

Requests for all other contracts will follow these procedures.

The Contract Administrator shall:

1. Determine the program requirements in coordination with the Contract Officer; and

2. Complete and submit the following to the Contract Officer.

a. Information for publication in the "California State Contract Register" (Follow Procedures in RAM 7311).

b. Contract Request Form - DR15 (Figure A-1) approved by their Deputy Director (Field staff must submit DR15 through the Supervisor to the District Administrator for review and sign-off before submittal to the Contract Officer) with an attachment containing the following:

1) Identify the specific problem, administrative requirement, program need, or other circumstance making the contract necessary.

2) Describe the service or final product which will result, its benefit and estimated number of persons served.

3) Describe how the state will use the contract product and how that use will benefit the stated programs.

4) Explain why a contract is the most effective method to achieve the state's purpose.

7202 Bids and Proposals (01/92)

State Law requires competition and fairness in awarding contracts. It also requires that the best possible contractor be obtained at the lowest cost to the State. To comply with these requirements, the State is mandated to do the following:

1. Submit an RFP/IFB to an appropriate number of potential bidders (10 or more) to attempt to secure at least three bids.

2. All RFP/IFBs received from potential bidders/proposers shall be reviewed and evaluated in accordance with the criteria set forth in the RFP/IFB and a recommendation shall be made as to a qualified firm with the lowest cost to the State. When justified, the selection process may include a bidder's conference.

3. All bids and proposals received (except informal) shall be evaluated by at least a three (3) member Contractor Selection Panel normally consisting of the Contract Administrator, another staff person in the same Unit, and a third member whose Division is not directly involved in the contract project. The Contract Officer will serve as a consultant to the panel regarding contracting policy and procedures, but not participate in the selection. The Contractor Selection Panel's recommendation may be submitted for approval to the Deputy Director of the Division requesting the contract.

4. The following procedures shall be used to award contracts:

a. A contract awarded, using the IFB method, shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

b. A contract using the RFP Primary method, shall be awarded using the following procedure:

1) The RFP must contain a provision that directs potential bidders to submit their proposals in two separate sealed envelopes.

2) One envelope shall contain their proposal information; the other shall contain the bid price and all cost information.

3) The selection panel will review the proposals to determine which ones meet the format requirements and standards specified in the RFP.

4) The sealed envelopes containing the bid price and cost information for those proposals meeting the format requirements and standards shall be publicly opened and read.

5) The contract must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder meeting the standards.

6) In case of a tie, the tying proposers may be called to provide additional information to justify selection.

c. A contract using the RFP secondary method shall be awarded using the following procedure.

The RFP must contain a provision that directs potential bidders to submit their proposals in a sealed envelope that contains their proposal information. All RFP/IFBs received from potential bidder/proposers shall be reviewed, evaluated and scored in accordance with the criteria set forth in the RFP/IFB and a recommendation shall be made to award the contract to the bidder obtaining the highest score.

The RFP secondary method may only be used in those instances where the amount of money has been determined by the State. Administrators should consult with the Contract Officer prior to issuing a RFP secondary.

Contracts for consultant services under $1,000.00 may be awarded through informal bidding procedures. The following procedures shall be followed for informal proposal/bids.

a. Contact potential consultants to secure at least three (3) written bids. Bids should include total costs.

b. Submit all bids received to the Contract Officer with a memo requesting preparation of a contract.

For consultant services $1,000.00 or more, follow the procedures in RAM 7311.

7203 Authorized Signatures (01/92)

Authority to sign contracts, interagency agreements, certifications and contract transmittal is limited to the Director, Chief Deputy Director, the Deputy Director of Administrative Services, and the Chief of the Budgets and Contracts Section.

7204 Payment Provisions (01/92)

Prior to submitting contractor's invoice to the Accounting Section for payment, Contract Administrators are responsible for reviewing and approving invoices received. Invoices must accurately reflect completed work. When the contract contains a detailed budget, the invoice must be submitted according to the line items. Payment provisions vary with each contract. However, most payment provisions in the contract will read, "In consideration of the above services performed in a manner acceptable to the State, the State shall reimburse the contractor monthly, (or quarterly, or one payment, etc.) in arrears, upon submission of an invoice in triplicate stating the time period covered, contract number, actual expenditures in accordance with the budget attached hereto and shown as Exhibit ___."

7300 CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS (CONSULTANTS & SERVICES) (01/92)

7301 Civil Service Consideration (01/92)

Consultant contracts are permitted if the Contract Administrator can certify and the Personnel Officer agrees that one of the following cannot be used:

1. A normal Civil Service appointment.

2. A special consultant appointment.

3. A specific appointment, such as Research Specialist, or other applicable specialist appointment.

4. Limited term transfer, reinstatement or appointment from an employment list.

5. Emergency appointment.

6. Interagency agreement with another state agency that has staff with the necessary skills.

The use of a consultant service contract, in lieu of one of the above appointments, is governed by requirements in Government Code Section 19130 (a) and (b). The Contract Administrator should contact the Personnel Officer before requesting such a contract.

7302 Advance Payments (01/92)

Advance payments are not permitted except when specifically authorized by law.

7303 Multiple Year Contracts (01/92)

Contracts for services should normally cover not more than one year (twelve consecutive months).

7204 Minority Women and Disabled Veterans (01/92)

It is State law that reasonable effort shall be made to include and obtain services and goods from business enterprises that are owned by minorities, women, and disabled veterans within the competitive system.

7305 Drug-Free Workplace ( 01/92)

It is State law that every individual or organization awarded a contract or grant for the procurement of goods or services, certify that it will provide a drug-free workplace.

7308 Medical Consultants (01/92)

Recruitment efforts for medical consultants shall include advertising in local medical bulletins, medical journals, county medical association publications, medical or psychiatric newsletters, State Contracts Register and contacts through Medical Service organizations, etc. The Contract Administrator must include a memo (Recruitment Certification) discussing the recruitment efforts, listing Doctors contacted and disposition of each response. Medical consultant contracts may be renewed for a period not to exceed three (3) years on each recruitment effort. Departmental recruitment procedures will be followed for first year, fourth year and successive three year increments (see Recruitment Instructions - Figure A-5).

Medical consultation contracts shall be for less than half-time and no medical consultant may work more than 19 hours per week.

Medical consultants under contract or who provide training services under contract shall be paid on a scale based on hours contracted.

Government Code Section 14830.28 prohibits a state department or state agency from contracting with a state officer or employee in State civil service to provide consultant services as an independent contractor.

Therefore, the Contract Administrator must ascertain whether the MC is a civil service employee with another state agency prior to the award of the contract. A civil service appointment may be more appropriate and the Personnel Officer should be contacted for information regarding a civil service appointment.

7309 Monitoring Contractor's Progress (01/92)

Each consultant and services contract shall have assigned a person within the Department to be the Contract Administrator (See RAM 7103). This person shall have the overall responsibility to evaluate and monitor the work of the contractor. Other staff time shall be scheduled according to the nature and complexity of each project.

The contract shall provide for a series of progress reports or meetings at least once a month to allow the state to determine if the contractor is proceeding satisfactorily and on schedule, provide communication of interim findings, and afford occasions for airing difficulties or special problems encountered so that remedies can be developed quickly.

7310 Contractor's Final Report, Implementation and Evaluation (01/92)

Upon completion of all consultant and services contracts, the Contract Administrator shall:

• Require the contractor to hold final meeting with departmental management during which contractor will present their findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

• Require the contractor to submit progress reports and a comprehensive final report, if required by contract provisions, to the Contract Officer. This requirement applies only to private consultant contracts. Medical Consultant and Case Service Contracts, interagency agreements, grants, and cooperative agreements have different monitoring, evaluation, and reporting requirements.

• Take steps necessary to implement the contractor's recommendations, if appropriate.

• Submit two (2) copies of all reports to the Contract Officer. In addition, when required, the Contract Administrator shall submit a completed Contract/Contractor Evaluation Sheet (Std. 4) to the contract Officer.

This form will be provided to the Contract Administrator by the Contract Officer and is due 30 days after the contract terminates.

7311 Contracts Register (01/92)

With the following exceptions, all proposed contracts must be advertised in the "California State Contracts Register" except:

• Contracts under $1,000.

• Emergency contracts.

• Contracts with other public entities.

Potential bidders shall be given a minimum of two weeks from the date of publication to respond to the proposed contracts. (Contact the Contract Officer for required publication and response dates). Therefore, the contract processing time will increase by four to six weeks. Contract Administrators must allow for this delay.

The Contract Officer will submit the required "Register" information to General Services for all contracts except those prepared by Business Services. The following information must be submitted to the Contract Officer.

• Brief description of contract service.

• Contract performance period (estimated time - days or months to provide service).

• Location of service (city and county).

• Name and phone number of the person (Contract Administrator) who can answer questions from potential bidders regarding work to be performed, etc.

• Estimated cost.

7400 FACILITIES DEVELOPMENT GRANTS (01/92)

The Department awards grants of Federal funds for the establishment or expansion of rehabilitation facilities and workshops.

7500 COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS (01/92

The Department negotiates cooperative agreements with other State agencies, counties, cities, universities, school districts, and other public agencies for the provision of rehabilitation services.

The Contract Administrator is responsible for developing operational plans with cooperating agencies. The Contract Officer shall be consulted in the preparation of the contract. The Contract Administrator is responsible for securing the cooperating agency's signature to the contract.

7600 CASE SERVICE CONTRACTS (01/92)

The term Case Service Contract (CSC) is used to describe a contract between the Department and a community facility for provision of vocational rehabilitation services to clients of the Department. These contracts obligate the Department to reimburse facilities for an agreed upon cost. The facility is obligated to make services available to the Department according to the provisions of the contract. The intent is to assure quality services for clients, and also assure prompt availability of services to the extent agreed upon in the contract. The Department loses a degree of flexibility by entering into such contracts, but this loss should be offset by added quality and timeliness of needed services. Careful planning is mandatory in order to assure full use of all services agreed upon in the contract.

7604 Community Resources Development Section (01/92)

The Contract Administrator may involve the Resource Specialist (who may call upon other staff from the Community Resources Development Section) during the development of a DSC agreement package. Services provided by Community Resources Development Section personnel may include assistance in service definition, evaluation of the program's service capacity and of individual services, fee determination, appropriate contractual format and language, and facilitation of form completion. The Resources Specialist will review the final document. Although the Community Resources Development Section assists in the processing of CSCs, the CSCs should be clearly differentiated from grants.

7605 Duties of the Case Service Contract Administrator (01/92)

The CSC Administrator serves as the principal Department liaison to the vendor. Duties of the CSC Administrator in addition to the duties listed in RAM 7103, include:

• Oversight of the contract development and obtaining approval signatures from the facility and the departmental staff.

• To receive and check copies of individual authorizations from counselors, and act as liaison to correct errors.

• Assurance of program accessibility according to 29 USC 794.

• To insure that services are used in the proportions specified in the contract.

• To attend the Vendor's Board of Director's meetings and participate in advisory committees as appropriate.

• Identification of problems such as under use, invoicing or payment difficulties, reports of low quality services or others. Solutions should be worked out if possible, or the problem should be reported to the supervisor of the Contract Administrator.

• Review of written progress reports against original objectives, such as output and average daily attendance.

• To assist the vendor with development of contract renewal proposal.

VENDOR'S INVOICE:

a. The Contract Administrator will receive the green copy of the Authorization for Services (DR297B) from districts.

b. Approximately on the fifth working day of each month, Data Processing will route to the printer in the District Office of the Contract Administrator (District Case Services Contracts), one copy of the invoice (CAS170AA). The Contract Administrator has the option to print out two copies or one copy, then xerox the second copy if needed. Statewide contracts invoices will be printed in Central Office and are mailed to the Contract Administrator.

c. One copy of the invoice is to be mailed to the vendor. One copy is for the Contract Administrator to use in providing information to respective districts involved with the contract.

d. Contract Administrators are responsible for instructing vendors on how to use the automated invoice.

e. In the space provided, the vendor must add the names of all clients authorized to attend for that month for which they have received new authorizations.

f. Vendor returns the completed copy of the invoice, along with the Case Services Contract Budget and Reimbursement Requests (Attachment C from contract) to the Contract Administrator. A memo or letter on the vendor's letterhead which provides their complete address as well as the signature of their representative MUST accompany the invoice.

g. The Contract Administrator should monitor the contract for the following:

• Do not confirm more than one date of service month per invoice.

• There must be an itemization showing the dollar amount for each client. The total of the amounts for individual client's MUST balance with the total of the invoice.

• Must have a DR297B for all clients listed on the CAS170AA before approving invoice and/or verify on the Client Encumbering System that the document number is accurate for the specified client and it has been encumbered.

• Usage is at least 80% monthly as required by contract.

• Districts have stayed within their monetary limits for multi-districts contracts.

• The correct DR297B document number is shown for clients added on the invoice.

h. Only designated Contract Administrators will approve invoices. Any change of address or change of contract Administrator requires a memo to Contract Analyst, Contracts Unit in Central Office and copies to Fund Accounting Supervisor and to the Contracts & Leases Unit Supervisor in the Accounting Section.

i. The approved, signed invoice (CAS170AA) along with the Case Service Contract Budget and Reimbursement Requests, is forwarded to the Accounting Section.

7606 Contract Officer (01/92)

The contract Officer shall process the CSC and forward to control agencies for review and approval. A minimum of eight weeks is needed for this process.

7607 Evaluation of Contracts (01/92)

Evaluation of CSCs in terms of cost benefit and effectiveness is vital to the Department in order to make appropriate management decisions. All contracts will contain a section as to how the contract will be evaluated. Program Evaluation Section may be consulted regarding this section if assistance is needed. Upon approval of the Deputy Director, Administrative Services Division, and Deputy Director, Field Operations Division, Program Evaluation Section will conduct an evaluation of any CSCs effectiveness and efficiency when a significant problem is identified.

7999 RAM CHAPTER 7 EXHIBITS

See hard (paper) version for the following exhibits:

Exhibit A-1 Contract Request (DR15)

Exhibit A-5 Recruitment Instructions - Medical Consultant

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